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• Plot Synopses

Falk........................J. D. Cannon
Archer......................Arthur Franz
Hoff........................Alvy Moore
Tracy.......................John Goddard

Well, I'm glad we aren't going to disappoint the press.--Harriman Nelson

In the missile room of the Seaview, Nelson, Crane, and the crew are hard at work on an experimental hull; in theory, says Nelson, this hull can withstand anything the Seaview can, and vice versa. They place four mannequins inside it, one in each section, and lower it into the sea. Nelson goes to the visiting scientists, who are monitoring its progress. They lower it 500 feet below the Seaview's crush depth of 5000 feet, with no apparent ill effects, and Nelson says that Admiral Falk's atmosphere, used for the first time in this experiment, works--it's kept the test hull from imploding. He wonders where Falk is, and is not happy to learn that the admiral is conducting a press conference. Crane reminds Nelson that they don't need him there to run these preliminary tests, but Nelson says that isn't the point--he's a scientist and he should be there. "His headline-grabbing is a disgrace to the scientific community," says Nelson. They debate the issue briefly, then return to the monitors--the test hull is now at a depth of 35,500 feet. We see it approach the ocean floor, in front of an unusually large, mobile, and noisy piece of vegetation. The Seaview's crew, of course, doesn't see this, and Kowalski announces happily that the hull is on the bottom. Nelson tells him to bring it back, but as it passes in front of the plant, the creature grabs it. Kowalski comments that there is some slack in the cable, which Nelson puts down to turbulence. The creature lets it go and it returns to the ship.

The experiment is over; Nelson is irritated--"Where the devil is Falk?" Crane goes to find out, but just then Falk enters the missile room, apologizing for his lateness, saying "those reporters just wouldn't let me go!" HIs assistant lifts his camera to photograph Nelson, who tells him to put it away. Falk goes to his man Archer, who ran the experiment in his absence, asking how it went; Archer says it went well, but doesn't seem sure enough for Falk. Nelson suggests that if the ship's safety isn't assured, the experiment should be postponed. Falk's aide, Hoff, says that's impossible--the press will be waiting for the results, but Falk says that the experiment will go on, prompting Archer, who agrees (albeit a bit unenthusiastically) that everything will be all right. Tracy walks up, ready for his role in the coming experiment, and Falk pulls him aside for a photograph, something to show his grandchildren. Meanwhile, Crane approaches; he will be accompanying Tracy, Archer, and Falk on the test hull's next trip. Nelson tells him that since he's the only one familiar enough with the hull's properties to determine whether there's any danger, he has full authority to cancel the experiment if he feels it's necessary. Falk hears this, and says that only he has that authority; Nelson disagrees, and Falk says he's starting to regret choosing Seaview to be the first submarine to go to the ocean's floor. Nelson reminds him that the Seaview is the only sub that has a chance to make it there. Falk backs down, saing that Nelson may be right; he says he's ready to dive, and Nelson wishes him luck. The four men enter the hull, the crew seals it, and it is launched.

In the hull, Falk idly fingers a lucky charm of some sort. Crane seems uncomfortable, but Archer tells him to breathe normally--his body has to adjust to the new atmosphere. He tells Falk to give Crane one half of one percent more nitrogen in his compartment of the hull; he does so, and Crane feels the improvement immediately. All is well, so Falk radios Nelson to take them to the next level.

As the hull approaches crush depth, the men adjust the hull's controls as necessary. Suddenly, the lights flash in the hull and the men are tossed to and fro. On the Seaview, Chip wonders what is going on, and Nelson explains what is happening (something about accelerating the molecules inside the hull). Soon all is well, and Crane asks Falk about the talisman he's holding, identifying it as Poseidon, and asking if it's the same one Falk's father carried on his famous bathysphere dive. Falk asks how Crane knows about that, and as it turns out, Falk's father was one of Crane's boyhood heroes--a book he wrote inspired Crane's interest in the sea. The experiment continues and the hull descends, until it finally lands on the ocean floor. They've made it! Falk congratulations the crew, as does Nelson, congratulating Falk in particular; Falk thanks him, and clutches the figure of Poseidon, muttering "I've beaten you, Father" under his breath. As the hull makes its way back to the Seaview, suddenly it's shaken as it passes through the vegetation. It's damaged--Archer tells Falk that they're losing air and will have lost one-fourth of the mixture before they reach the ship--there won't be enough for all of them to make it back. He tells Nelson, who initiates emergency procedures. As the air canister continues to leak, Falk surreptitiously flips a switch and turns a knob. Crane keels over. Archer, horrified, asks him what he's doing--withoug air, Crane will die! Saying nothing, Falk does so again, and this time it's Tracy who collapses in his compartment.

Soon, back on the Seaview, crewmembers carry the three surviving men to the decompression chamber. Nelson tells Kowalski to set it to 6000 decibars, a setting so high that the doctor questions it, but Nelson is certain. Hoff asks how Falk is doin, and Nelson replies that he can't be sure of anything yet; Hoff takes out his camera and approaches the chamber window, but Nelson stops him, telling him it's no time to be taking pictures. Hoff then goes to the doctor, asking for a statement, and Nelson tells him there will be no press releases. Hoff says that that may be a problem, since he has already told Washington about the incident. Nelson is outraged, but Hoff insists that he is only following Falk's orders, saying that Falk is very conscious of history. Nelson, unimpressed, replies that he is not--no press releases.

In the chamber, Falk wakes first. He checks to be sure that Crane is asleep, then wakes Archer; he defends his actions in the test hull, saying that he had to cut off Tracy's air--the four men would never have made it, and Tracy was the most expendable member of the team. He asks Archer to understand. Archer replies that he understands--Falk is afraid that he'll tell on him, but he won't. He would if it would bring Tacty back, but as it is, he'll deny himself the pleasure of exmposing Falk. Falk, relieved, says that Archer has been denying himself that pleasure for many years.

Later, all three men are eating; Nelson enters the chamber, telling the men they'll be out soon. He hands Falk the figure of Poseidon, which he dropped on the floor of the test hull. Falk says that the test was conclusive. Nelson isn't as sure--after all, a man died--but Falk claims that Tracy cut off his own air supply, sacrificing himself; he plans to dedicate the dive to Tracy's memory, and asks Nelson how soon they can do it. Nelson says he has cancelled the Seaview's dive, wanting to do another test run first. Falk objects but Nelson has made up his mind. Nelson leaves, and Falk looks to Crane for support.

Crane enters Nelson's quarters. Nelson asks how he is; Crane says fine. He tries to persuade Nelson to forgo further testing and do the Seaview's dive as soon as possible. When Nelson refuses, Crane says "You resent his headline-grabbing so much, I wonder if you want the dive to succeed!" Nelson pauses, realizing what Crane is implying, and asks if he thinks he is jealous of Falk; "Of course not," says Crane unconvincingly, and leaves.

In the control room, Nelson takes a message from the teletype machine. Falk and Crane are at work at the table as Hoff takes a few pictures. Nelson turns angrily and walks over to Falk, showing him the message and asking him what's going on. Falk says that it should be clear--the president has ordered Nelson not to interfere with Falk's project. He tells Crane that they can start preparations immediately; "Proceed, Captain," says Nelson, glaring at Crane. He tells Falk that if there's the slightest hint of trouble, he'll abort the mission, orders or no orders--and see to it that Falk is held responsible. Falk tries to calm Nelson, telling him that they are making history, and there is nothing to worry about. (Of course, he doesn't know about the giant plant waiting at the bottom of the ocean.)

Preparations for the dive are underway. Nelson goes to Archer, who is working at the machine's console, asking to be briefed on what will happen. Archer tells him that the computer will control the breathing mixture for each level, as well as the rate of descent. Crane calls Nelson from the control room; they are now 200 feet above crush depth. Archer begins the exchange of atmospheres. The crew looks nervous, but Crane tells them to breathe normally, there's nothing to worry about. Hoff unthinkingly starts to light a cigarette, and Falk stops him, shouting at him and telling him to sit down and shut up. Archer comments that he's never seen Falk refuse to have his picture taken before; Nelson smiles. Archer continues to give a running commentary; Nelson turns away to tell the crew exactly what to expect, and Archer clutches his chest in pain. Turning, Nelson asks if he's all right; he says that he is, and the dive continues.

Told by Archer that the next atmosphere exchange won't be done for a while, Nelson leaves; Falk and Hoff soon follow, leaving Archer to run the console.

In the control room, Crane and Morton comment on the heat--it's 98 degrees and rising! Nothing like that had happened during the test run. Nelson, entering, orders the dive stopped; Falk says that it's the Seaview's cooling system that's causing the problem, not his machine. He leaves, finding no sign of Archer; he flips frantically through Archer's notes, then looks beside the console where he finds Archer collapsed on the floor. "You can't die now!" he says, telling him he has to fix the temperature, and walking him to the chair behind the console. Nelson enters, saying that the temperature rise has nothing to do with the Seaview, and asks what's wrong. Falk says it's nothing serious, and he and Archer will take care of it. Nelson calls Falk a fool--it's 130 degrees and rising--and Falk asks Archer why he isn't taking care of the problem. Archer replies that he's just the assistant, Falk is the inventor--would he care to take over? Falk declines, and Archer quickly fixes the problem. Nelson tells Crane to continue the dive.

Nelson and Archer are at the console. Crane tells them that the Seaview has reached the bottom; Nelson tells him to take it up 200 feet and hold. Nelson asks Archer if they have time to look at the view from the observation nose; Archer says yes, but they'd better go quickly--they shouldn't stay down longer than five minutes, because after that the decompression time increases logarithmically every minute. They hurry off.

In the observation nose, Nelson and Archer look out; Archer says that it reminds him of a line written by Falk's father--"The abyss is where your nightmares live." Falk, entering, says that his father was a better poet than a scientist, and adds that "Nightmares are the dreams of the ignorant--my dreams have conquered the sea." By the way, he adds, he was on the phone with the president when they touched bottom--he was thrilled. Neither Nelson nor Archer is impressed. Falk asks Archer what's wrong--they're going to be heroes. Archer, angry, says that there's only one hero--Falk! He starts to talk, then grabs his chest and collapses. Nelson and Falk go to him, Nelson finding a bottle of digitalis in his pocket and asking Falk if he knew that Archer had a heart condition. Falk pauses, then says "Of course not." Just then, Hoff brings their attention to the window--the giant plant is out there, waving menacingly, and as they look on in horror it starts to roar.

The ship attempts to back up, as Nelson tells Falk that they need to get off the bottom immediately, asking how soon they can do it. Falk seems not to hear him, and Nelson asks again. Falk responds slowly, telling Nelson he'll need his help. They leave, and Hoff follows after a last glance at the creature.

Nelson urges Falk to bring the ship up; Crane enters--the creature has backed the ship into a canyon. Nelson tells him to try to maneuver the ship around it, and watches as Falk fiddles around with the console, making at least one error obvious to Nelson. However, the Seaivew rises from the ocean floor. Falk, relieved, tells Nelson that if he seemed confused, it was the shock of Archer's death--they were very close. Just then, they hear a strange hissing sound. Falk doesn't know what it is, and when he adjusts the console it only makes it worse. Nelson opens a panel, and tells Falk that there is a pressure imbalance--the pressure inside the hull is greater than that outside, and if they can't compensate, the ship will explode. Falk frantically reads through the notes, while Nelson returns to the console and gets to work. The ship again sinks to the botom, and Nelson asks Falk what's wrong. Falk says that nothing could have gone wrong--Archer assured him of that! "Archer?" says Nelson--but isn't the machine Falk's design? "I'm a scientist, not a mechanic," says Falk; he told Archer what he wanted and let him work out the details. He tries to defend himself, but it's apparent that he has no real idea of how the machine works. Nelson calls him a thief and a fraud, and tells him he has dishonored his father's name. Falk tries to object, saying that he's a much greater man than his father ever was--look at all the recognition he's had. Nelson wonders if Falk has ever done anything for himself. Falk looks up at Crane and Hoff, saying that Nelson is wrong--tell him he's wrong! Neither man replies, and Falk pulls the figure of Poseidon from his pocket and rubs it nervously.

Meanwhile, the plant attacks. The Seaview rocks, and the crewmen are thrown from side to side. An electrical charge sent through the hull hurts the creature, but doesn't stop it. Crane suggest sending out a party of divers (with Falk's breathing mixture in their tanks) to distract it, but Nelson wants to try all other options first.

Falk leaves the room and goes to the missile room, where he takes diving gear and a spotlight and prepares to leave the ship. Hoff follows, and tries to sto him, but Falk punches him, knocking him out. He exits the ship and swims away, shining the light to distract the creature, which moves away from the Seaview. By then, Nelson had figured out the machine; he exchanges atmospheres and the Seaview rises slowly to the surface.

In sick bay, Hoff is bandaged by the doctor; he tells how he tried to stop Falk with no success; Falk told him that he wanted to do something important for once. Crane says that he did--he saved the lives of everyone on the Seaview. Hoff wonders if Nelson plans to expose Falk; Nelson asks what good it would do, and Hoff thanks him. Nelson says he can thank him by making sure that Archer gets the credit he deserves. Hoff says he will--by the time he's done, Archer will be as famous as Falk! By the way, says Hoff to Nelson, could you use a good press secretary? Nelson rolls his eyes, tells Crane he needs some fresh air, and leaves.